The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has initiated a lawsuit against Binance Australia Derivatives, a cryptocurrency derivatives trading platform, citing failures in consumer protection.
According to a news release on December 18, the regulator accused Binance of wrongly classifying more than 500 retail clients as wholesale investors from July 2022 to April 2023, thus depriving them of legal safeguards provided by Australian financial regulations.
In the filing, ASIC asserts that retail clients deserve enhanced consumer protections, such as access to a Product Disclosure Statement (PDS), a Target Market Determination (TMD), and internal dispute resolution mechanisms.
ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court condemned Binance’s compliance systems as 'woefully inadequate,' noting that numerous clients had incurred substantial financial losses due to insufficient protections.
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Bitwise launches Solana staking ETP in Europe amid US approval delays
Crypto index fund manager Bitwise has introduced a Solana staking exchange-traded product (ETP) in Europe under the stock ticker BSOL, while it awaits approval for its Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States.
According to a Dec. 18 news release, Bitwise has listed its Solana (SOL)-based crypto-staking ETP on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange’s Xetra trading platform in collaboration with Marinade, a self-custodial automation tool. Bitwise had not provided further details about the partnership to Cointelegraph by the time of publication.
The new ETP offers an annual percentage yield (APY) of 6.48% for stakers, surpassing its European rivals like 21Shares, which offers 5.49%.
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Coinbase slammed for linking WBTC delisting to Justin Sun
The cryptocurrency community has criticized Coinbase's rationale for removing Wrapped Bitcoin, attributing it to the 'unacceptable risk' posed by Tron founder Justin Sun.
On December 17, Coinbase responded to a lawsuit from Sun-affiliated BiT Global, which claimed that Coinbase damaged the Wrapped Bitcoin market by delisting it in November. In its response, Coinbase mentioned risks associated with Sun, including allegations of financial misconduct and regulatory probes.
The crypto community has sharply criticized this response, arguing that Coinbase did not provide sufficient legal or technical reasons for the delisting. Additionally, some pointed out that Coinbase itself has been subject to numerous investigations.
